OK. I got this together last week and I think it works pretty well. This is a great way to turn the CX bike sitting in your garage into a more capable gravel machine. I thought the big downside would be the canti brakes but after riding it a few times, it really is not so bad. I have bar top brake levers on this bike which some folks may eschew but I really like braking from the tops when the roads get sketchy. I have some really nice rim brake road wheels sitting around, so it is fun to use these resources. I had most of the stuff on hand except the derailleur, cassette and chainring which made this a really inexpensive conversion. I also bought a 110 BCD bashguard which I decided not to use at this point.
I have been riding CX bikes on dirt and gravel roads for 10+ years; more so when I had a vacation cabin in PA. Cross gearing pretty much sucks for riding gravel but that is mostly what existed at the time. But this is a way to build up a machine that can handle some steep climbing and enjoy some gravel events using what you may already have on hand (mostly). I live in area where there are not many gravel roads, so I have to drive to gravel these days. I am really not sure how often I will drive to gravel roads and may just drive to the trails (my first love) most of the time. We will see how much gravel I really ride. If I find myself riding more gravel, I will buy a Topstone or Diverge in the future.
To get this 10 speed Mullet Drivetrain to work, I used the following components:
1. SRAM Rival 10 Speed Shifters (Exact Actuation)
2. SRAM GX Type 2.1 10 spd rear derailleur (Long Cage, Exact Actuation)
3. Microshift Advent X 11-48T Casssette (10 Spd)
4. Hope Drop Stop 34T Front Chainring (10/11 spd, I have a 110 BCD Carbon Truvativ Crank Set)
5. SRAM 1051 10 spd chain (full length 114 links)
6. Jagwire In-Line Cable Adjuster
7. WolfTooth Road Link - "Goat Link" to extend the length of the derailleur hanger
You might think the Microshift Cassette, has some big jumps and it does. However, I did not find this too bothersome. I was always able to find a comfortable gear. Another option is a Shimano Deore M4100 11-42/46 10 speed cassette, but the cogs are all steel, it is heavier and the jumps are not reduced by that much.
Special Thanks to
@jimvreeland for giving me a ton of good advice, the RoadLink and spending some time with me in person to make he final adjustments. He really is the master!
I hope this helps someone repurpose a bike sitting around in the garage! Here is a photo of the final build...
View attachment 183736
